She Wasn't Alice
by Dolly's Toybox
Summary: Have you ever wondered why Ace told Alice he didn't love her? Why he always seems so lost? Why he fails to accept the life he has? Alice certainly didn't understand, not until now, when Ace tells her the events of what happened a mere year before she came to Heart Country.


**Hello readers. It is I, Slothely stego bazinga girl, returning with a new name, new clean ish slate and a new idea after some year or so.**

**I got this idea when reading the Alice in the country of hearts books for what I think is the 100th time. I saw the line where Ace says he doesn't really like Alice and suddenly this idea came to. I know that Ace does develop feelings for Alice in the games and in the Alice x Ace Clover manga, but I am writing this as if he never had, as if something had happened before. Happy reading, everyone.**

* * *

She wasn't Alice.

It was a particularly dark night period in the heart country. In the middle of a forest, the orange and yellow glow of a campfire emitted. Around it, sat Ace the knight of hearts and Alice Liddel, the foreigner. It was like always, yet there was something that wasn't quite right that had made Miss Liddel quite worried.

"You're awful quiet, Ace. Is everything alright? " She asked the red eyed man, who looked into the flames deep in thought.

"...I'd be lying if I said yes." He sighed, his voice conveying an emotion that Alice never seen him show: sad and heartbroken.

"Why the long face?"

"It doesn't matter, Alice, let's get inside before we can't see what we're doing." Ace said, turning round to crawl into his tent which he would bring out whenever he were out at night, until a hand grabbed hismarm and stopped him. He twisted his head round to see Alice restraining him. Her gaze locked into his.

"Please?" She asked, a look of concern covering her face. With yet another sigh, Ace sat back, and looked around him, shaking ever so slightly.

"This...this place. This is where I met her...and this is where she-she..."

"Who?"

"...Not long before you came here, there was a girl, and by god she was the prettiest thing I had ever seen...no offence." He said, a half hearted smirk on his face.

"Oh, I'll remember that, knight. But, I thought I was the first foreigner you, and many other role holders, had seen." Alice stated, confused.

"You are. Well...how to put this-" He paused for a moment, thinking of what to say. "-Right. Let me start at the beginning."

~1 year earlier~

Ace was out again, heading back to the territory in which he resided in. The night had set in, and so it was time for him to set up his tent. It was huge to say the least, big enough to fit two people. It was quiet that night, so he stayed out to look at the stars until the fire died out. He sighed as he looked at them, then all of a sudden:

"Hello?!"

He looked to his right where he heard the shout from a girl, not seeing anyone. He slowly got up, and started to ready his sword.

"Is someone there?" He asked, creeping closer.

"... Can you help me? I'm lost and I don't know where I'm going." The voice asked, pleadingly.

"It's dangerous to walk around the woods at night. You should have stayed home."

"But...I don't know where my home is...I don't really remember anything." Ace lowered his blade slightly as a young woman stepped out into the open, startled when she saw him and raised her hands:

Her face was dotted with freckles, and there were evident dark circles around her brown eyes. Frizzy, tangled dark blond hair tied into a messy ponytail. She wore a plain white T-shirt, distressed blue jeans with holes at the knees, a wooly cardigan that had mismatched buttons down it and a pair of old Timberland boots. A plain looking leather bag hanging on her shoulder. Ace didn't know what happened, but he was mesmerised by her.

"Easy! I'm not a threat!" She yelled, snapping him out of it.

"S-sorry." He stumbled at his wording, returning his sword to its rightful place.

"Could you tell me where I am, please? " She asked him.

"You're in Heart Country."

"...I'm far from home aren't I?"

"Well, how'd you get here?"

"I don't know, all I remember is my name and waking up to see this bottle with a "drink me" label on it. So I drank it..." The girl holds out a vial as proof. Ace walks closer to her, inspecting the small bottle in her hand, humming to himself until he said:

"I'm sorry miss, but no probabilities of what happened comes to mind."

"Oh, well, that's okay. I appreciate the help anyway. Also, do you know if there's anywhere I could spend the night? " She asks him, only to receive a shake of the head from the knight.

"We're too far from any town, and it would most likely be a matter of time before a wild animal shows up. I have some extra room here if that'll do." He explains, pointing to his tent. She stood and looked at him and the only form of shelter close by, sighing in defeat.

"There's no other way around it. Thank you so much." and so they both crawled in one after the other.

~Present time~

"Wait, so this is where you both met?" Alice asked.

"Sure was. I couldn't stop looking at her when she was close by..." Ace sighed, looking down to the ground.

"But, that doesn't explain how everyone thinks I'm the first foreigner they've seen..."

"Well, that's enough story time for tonight, I'll tell you more in the morning. "


End file.
